


Spectre Requirements AKA Council's Stupid Marriage Requirement

by DragonDreads (cjbage)



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Adult Content, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Reapers, Canon-Typical Violence, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Interspecies Relationship(s), Interspecies Romance, Interspecies Sex, Mature Situations, Non-Canon Relationship, Not Suitable/Safe For Work, Slow Build, Work In Progress, Xenophilia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2016-10-03
Packaged: 2018-05-06 19:22:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5427719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cjbage/pseuds/DragonDreads
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>** On Temporary Hiatus **</p><p>AU universe. No Reapers. </p><p>Humanity is just now being accepted as a Citadel race. Shepard is nominated for Spectre. But never told of the requirements. </p><p>The only thing she knew was that Spectres were not trained only chosen,  they were beings forged in the fires of battle,  or at least that's part of what the pompous bastards spouted in the data file that was sent to the Systems Alliance when the humans asked to have some of their members evaluated.</p><p>The time for her mentoring is now over. She has been evaluated and recommended for acceptance as a full Spectre. Now she needs to fulfill the rest of the requirements.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Standard Disclaimer** : Bioware owns all of the Mass Effect Universe, including but not limited to the recognizable characters. Any original characters are my own. There is no monetary gain from this work. All I am doing is playing around with their universe.
> 
> **~**  
> Please do not use my original characters in a different story unless permission is asked for and received.  
> Do not post this story in a different archive, forum, or mailing list. I post only on Archive of Our Own. If you like it please post a link to this page instead. Thank you.  
> **~**
> 
> Ok, so here is the deal, I got bored and couldn't concentrate on my other stories. Then again it could be because I just got a new eyeglass prescription that makes me feel like an old lady because I needed progressive lenses. *Cry*
> 
> Anyhoo... I have been working on this for a while now, in between my already posted stories and the other 9 that are currently in my to do folder, so here it is. 
> 
> Updates as usual will be sporadic. I still haven't gotten around to begging ... pleading ... asking for a beta, so any and all mistakes you run across are my own. And fair warning there are always a bunch.
> 
> Con Crit is always appreciated as are comments and kudos. If you think the story sucks let me know, just make sure to give a valid reason why so I can try and improve. A *dur..dur.. this stories dum... they's don't act lik Garrus..dur dur..* isn't a valid reason.
> 
> Enjoy.

* * *

 

 

Nihlus was sitting in the pilot seat of his ship looking at the human that had been assigned to him to be mentored for Spectre acceptance for the last 2 years. The female was headstrong, fair but had a ruthless streak when it was necessary. She was a hell of a soldier,  her skills on the battlefield were excellent,  her technical skills were fair.  
  
For the most part she showed she could deal well with other species, not going easy on her own species when they were hunting them. That in itself was an oddity, other than the salarians, most of the others cut their own some slack. But not Shepard. It didn't matter what the species they were after,  if they were told to take care of the issue they did it. Shepard did however, insist on a thorough scouting and intel recon past what the Council passed on to them. He had to admit,  there were many times that what they were told was different than what they had actually found.  
  
He had asked her one time why she did it, she told him, it was all political bullshit, she hated politicians and refused to be used for their pettiness. She wanted cold, hard facts,  not the hemming and hawing of politicians. He was going to hate it when she found out the rest of the requirements needed for her to become a Spectre.  
  
The Council had asked him to extend the training when he made his report to them a year ago, she had been more than ready then. Since the humans were new they needed more time to iron out their species requirements.  So he told her it would be another year at the least, they spent that past year hunting a few serial killers for the Council, with Nihlus just as backup and letting Shepard run the show. But now that year was up and they just finished their last mission together as a team. It was time to head back for her induction.  
  
He hoped to all the Spirits she didn't try and kill the Council when she found out about a few of the requirements they were putting on her.

* * *

  
  
"Well, Commander Shepard,  you now come before us after several years of being mentored by one of our top Spectres. He has given us a report on how you conducted yourself and the investigations. How you handled the missions." Tevos, the asari Councilor,  told her. "We have reviewed all of the files and agree that you would be the best choice for the first human Spectre."  
  
Shepard stood up straighter and noticed Nihlus start to fidget, moving slightly away from her. The turian Councilor spoke up next, staring down his ...nose at her. How he even managed to pull off that look without having the prominent nose that humans had was beyond her,  yet he did it. "Now the rest of the requirements have to be finalized before your status is fully approved. We have spoken to your Systems Alliance leaders to make sure that they fall within your cultural standards yet also satisfies the Council's requirements." He used the terminal in front of him to bring up a holo screen.  
  
"The first requirement is lodging,  as a Spectre you must maintain a permanent home here on the Citadel. We provide this as a basic part of your pay, however, it is the apartment alone that we provide. You must purchase the rest.  Furniture, food and anything above the basic necessities, that is your full responsibility. The second requirement is your own ship. The Alliance has agreed to provide this for you as long as you satisfy the other requirements and retain your Spectre status. You must obtain Spectre grade weapons and armor from the requisitions office. Although your N7 gear is top of the line for the Alliance,  it is however, barely standard for Spectres. Your N7 designation will be added to the armor." He tapped his talon on the pad in front of him,  transferring the location of both the apartment and the docking bay of the ship.  
  
"Now for the next part of the requirement. You will submit mission reports in full detail. As a Spectre you will be operating above the normal governing laws in order to do your job. You will, however, remember that you are a representative of this Council,  your actions reflect on the other Spectres as well as us."

"Now for the final requirement. All Spectres are required to fulfill their species bonding requirements. All Spectres must have a bonded mate here on the Citadel. As such we have spoken to your Alliance leaders and found out the customs of marriage for your people,  we also consulted with Nihlus and Captain Anderson. Afterward we ran various applications, I believe one of your Board members called it a matchmaking application, and it chose your mate from the available candidates. Your bonding ceremony is set for the end of the week."  
  
Shepard stood there in shock for about a minute then turned and started to stride from the chamber, "take your Spectre status and shove it." She yelled back as she held up her hand,  her middle finger standing straight up.  
  
Nihlus covered his face and shook his head, he knew she would have this reaction and tried to tell the Council. But it was one of their requirements and had to be upheld. His own asari mate was somewhere on the Citadel, he had two apartments, the one the Council gave him and one of his own. The asari usually stayed at the Council one or with whoever she happened to be melding with that particular week. As long as he didn't do anything stupid like mark another female she could care less what he did or with whom.  Same with her, as long as she didn't do anything to bring attention to their arrangement or decide to have a child he didn't care. Maybe if he talked with Shepard and let her know there were loopholes she would handle it better.  
  
He glanced up and saw Captain Anderson looking at his own feet and heaving a heavy sigh.  
  
"I'll go talk with her,  explain a few things. I may need medical care afterward... just so you can be prepared. If I don't make it back, tell that asari I bonded to,  err... Ta'leri, Te'lari ...T'lia ... whatever her name was, that the apartment on the 900 block is hers." Nihlus told them then took off at a jog trying to catch up with Shepard.

* * *

  
  
"Shepard,  wait up. Spirits, slow the hell down a minute." He yelled and then finally caught up with her at the elevator. "Let's go have a drink, I'll do what the Council and your Captain should have,  explain a few things to you."  
  
"You should have fucking told me this years ago, Nihlus. What the hell kinda shit is this?" She hissed at him.

He looked around and mumbled,  his voice low, "not here, Shepard,  there are things that others don't need to know about."  
  
He dragged her to a skycar and to one of the lesser known bars on the Citadel, paid for a private booth and ran a scrambler app so their conversation couldn't be recorded. Once their drinks arrived he started to explain a few things. "Look,  I know this came as a shock. But the Council's requirements have to be upheld. And you are the best the humans have to offer. They want a Spectre and that Spectre should be you,  you have more than earned it."  
  
"Nihlus,  that whole bond with a stranger bit doesn't fly with me. One night stands are one thing, a bit of friends with benefits is fine too,  but to have to marry a virtual stranger. No." She stared at him, "that's another thing,  what the hell Nihlus, you never told me you were bonded. If you had I would never had agreed to our ... downtime activities."  
  
"Look, Shepard,  I'm going to tell you something. For most of us, that requirement is a joke, we use the loopholes in the wording. I recommended a match that would suit you as a crew member,  I think the Captain did as well. You left even before hearing the outcome of the process. Most of us leave them here on the Citadel while we go to work. They are taken care of financially, they go about their business. They are already aware that it is just for show,  to give the general public a sense that Spectres are just people as well. And as long as they don't do anything to bring the arrangements to the notice of the media then it's all good,  and the same goes for us. We work,  blow off steam,  however and with whoever we want as long as it doesn't end up on the nightly news."  
  
"Some of them however,  happen to actually like their mates,  or grow to like them enough to have an actual bond with them. The salarians have this down to a science. They show up once a year,  meld and go right back to work. Bau told me once it took them longer to dock than what it did to meld and be ready to leave again. There are several turians that put in a request for mates among the asari and other candidates that were fighters, not Spectre material themselves, and had them just be part of their crew. It has worked fairly well for them. The apartment here for when you are on the Citadel, for whatever reason, can be used so you don't have to try and get a damn hotel." She was on her second shot by the time he was done talking.  
  
"The politicians made up the rules,  but Spectres found the loopholes,  and turned their own rules against them. I'm gonna make a suggestion to you. The Council will have to foot the entire bill as part of those requirements for your partner, find out what they picked,  if they didn't get you someone to fight alongside of you. Request one instead." He knocked back one of his own shots, "I can barely stand having to deal with that asari nagging at me for a different wardrobe every year, as for having her on my ship, no.  I prefer a ... variety in my partners. I have found that I am rather fond of squishy humans."  
  
Shepard was on her 4th shot by the time Nihlus stopped talking. "So they are forcing this shit on me,  and there are ways to make them pay for it.  Hit them where it hurts the most,  the bank accounts."  
  
Nihlus nodded, "yeah, they generate a certain amount of income from all of the Council races. Whatever is left from funding Citadel projects and Spectre needs is then split between the 3 of them and goes into their own accounts. The salarians rack up quite a bill." Nihlus started to laugh. "They each demand their own spawning pools be built into their homes. In case they are called upon by their clan Dalatrass to produce salarian offspring. The asari,  demand that their mates have the best in the way of homes and clothing, to keep up their appearance.  And any who have asari as mates do as well. Turians hit them with needed modifications on armor and weapons. We may have to buy them ourselves,  but in order to get them on the requisition form the Council has to buy them first. And turians always want the best of the new items. Now they are going to have to deal with humans as well, so figure out ways that you need to spend their money and do it."

 

* * *

  
  
They were on their way back to the Council chambers, Nihlus had sent a message alerting them that he had explained the situation and Shepard was willing to talk about it again.  
  
Shepard stood in front of the Council,  a belligerent look still on her face. "Perhaps if you would have explained things better to begin with instead of springing this on the new human it would have went better." She glared in turn at the Council and then at the Captain, who was again standing beside her. Nihlus saw his shoulders give a twitch, but other than that didn't give any indication he knew part of her ire had been directed at him.  
  
"Hmm. We shall keep that in mind, Commander.  We did not realize it would have been unknown to you," Tevos said to her. The asari had the annoying habit of always trying to placate but seemed to only come off as condescending.  
  
They brought up the holo of the chosen mate, a human male, that was a store owner. Shepard started to laugh, "oh hell no,  that man wouldn't stand a chance. He wouldn't make it a month with me. I need someone that can keep up with me on both the battlefield and in the bedroom. That skinny stick doesn't even look like he could pick up a pistol let alone a sniper rifle and use it."  
  
The Councilors looked at each other then back at Shepard and the others, Nihlus was shaking his head at them. The turian Councilor picked up on the subharmonics coming off of him,  sounding out his disapproval.  
  
Shepard laid out the requirements she wanted for a mate,  and she wanted to be the one to chose him not some fail application. She insisted she wanted to give it her full attention, since this was not told to her she hadn't planned on not going straight out to work and would need full access to the apartment and a supply of food, along with suitable clothing for the time she had to spend on the Citadel. Since this was one of the Council's demands they needed to provide her the basics needed as a female human that was looking for a suitable mate.  Nihlus was holding his mandibles in tight to his face, forcing his subharmonics down in order not to laugh,  she was going to wring the Council dry.  
  
They told her they would run her requirements through the system and send her the details of the matches from the Council species. So she would be presented with turian, asari and salarian candidates along with any humans that would fall within their guidelines and her requirements.

 

* * *

  
  
After she left the Council chamber she hounded and practically yelled at the Captain the entire way to the dock to view the ship. "Shepard, I know it was a shock. But the Alliance board told me not to say a word or I would have told you. They knew, as well as I, that had you known you would have had the reaction you did. Only sooner and we wouldn't have had another chance to get a Spectre in for years. As a concession though,  I think you will like the ship. Think of it as a peace offering." Anderson told her as they arrived at the dock and the elevator doors opened to show a sparkling white and blue ship in the dock. It was huge,  a frigate class.  
  
"This is the prototype frigate, designation Normandy SR-1." Anderson stood back and let her look at the gleaming ship in front of her. "Ready to go aboard, Spectre?" He led the way in,  introduced the pilot and navigational crew,  then the ship medical officer. Various repair crews,  the cargo and shuttle bays were next. She had insisted on her own requisitions officer who assured her that he would be given access to the Spectre goods for when she needed to upgrade or buy replacements along with any other gear. All she would need is to buy the authorization licences from the companies. The young officer that she had chosen from the trained crew smartly saluted her and turned on his heel,  promptly hurrying to the terminal to begin his new assignment. Everyone in the cargo hold could see the gleam in his eyes from excitement and awareness that he had just received a huge promotion.  
  
The engine room was last.  After introductions the Chief Engineer told her about the over sized drive core which enabled a prototype stealth capability. Wouldn't hide them if someone was looking out a window but it would hide the ship from other heat sensors for a short period of time. Longer if they would run dark while in stealth.  
  
They stopped in the Captain's quarters. She frowned at the size. Oh she had plans ... and one of them just presented itself. They will need to upgrade the quarters alright.  
  
"I'll contact the Alliance repair facility and give them the updates I require,  one of which is for this room,  nowhere near big enough and certainly won't do for ... what is needed by a Spectre." She told him,  a sly smirking grin stretching her lips. "Especially for a female human Spectre."  
  
"Oh God, what is going through that head of yours, Shepard?"  
  
"The Council is going to pay, and pay dearly for what they are making me do. And the Alliance is going to pay for not telling me this shit in advance." Was all she said as she left the room.

 

* * *

  
  
The apartment was next, it was completely bare. It was somewhat big,  2 bedrooms. She wouldn't get comfortable yet though. They may need something bigger. Oh this was going to be fun.  
  
She opened her omni tool and called Nihlus, "hey,  you busy?"

 

* * *

  
  
The next morning, after she disentangled herself from Nihlus' long arms and legs,  she made herself some instant coffee and sat at the breakfast table to look over the data that had just arrived from the Council. Nihlus came out of the bedroom, yawning loudly,  made himself some kava then sat down next to her. He plucked the datapad from her fingers and looked over it. "Well at least they sent you decent matches this time,  a shopkeeper... what in the name of the Spirits were they thinking."

 

* * *

  
  
Shepard had a cot moved into the apartment. Then went shopping. Normally hating having to do this, she had a feral grin on her face as she entered the clothing store.  
  
The crates and crates of clothing that had been delivered were used as tables and seats for the apartment. She sent notice she was ready to begin the process of interviews, she would need to meet with each one in person,  spend the day and have meals together so she could get to know them a bit . All on the Council's tab as it was tradition that the one who is asking for "dates",  as the humans call them,  pay for the activities. And since this was a Council's requirement they had to follow her customs. She watched the holo screen as Tevos buried her head in her hands, Sparatus fisted his hands and banged on the console in front of him. Valern stared at her,  sputtering about the costs.  
  
"This is a Council's requirement that has to be upheld. And that requirement specifically states that the Spectre's species customs will be upheld and provided for." The grin on her face even gave the turian Councilor pause.

 

* * *

  
  
"Alright Councilors, I have narrowed down the prospective mates to this list. I will need more time to get to know them personally. I should be comfortable enough by the end of the next month to make my choice. In the meantime, the others can go back home. I thank them all for taking the time to come meet me."  
  
"Another month, Shepard?" Tevos whined at her. Just that morning they received the bills from the previous month. All of them groaned and their jaws dropped,  a human female was expensive.  
  
"Yes, Councilor. On Earth it is nothing to take a year or more to decide if the person is marriage material, I know of several that had dated for more than 5 years before they decided to marry. I am going against my own customs and wants to do this sooner to please the Council. Of course if you prefer, we can follow my species dictates ..."  She stopped talking as all three of the Councilors shouted, "NO!" at her.

 

* * *

  
  
She gathered all of them into her apartment. She was honest with them. She told them she was looking at them as ground crew members first. She would provide for them,  as was Council law. She would do everything to accommodate them. Then asked if any of them had any concerns or questions.  
  
One of the human males rubbed his forehead. "So let me get this straight. The Council is making you marry one of us to fulfil their requirements? But other than marrying us, we can go about our own business?"

She nodded, "yep. As long as you don't cause problems,  don't create a media circus and keep your noses clean, I could care less what you do. We only have to meet once a year if that is what we decide. But it's important that it's understood that the marriage or bonding,  is official. So neither of us could go and marry someone else. I chose each of you for your battle skills,  as a Spectre the missions I get are more dangerous than most. I am looking for someone to fill in the gaps."  
  
"Speaking bluntly,  I would need my partner to be willing to share my bed to blow off steam if we need it. Or don't mind me finding someone else for stress relief." She shifted on the crate she was using as a chair. "As far as the turians, if chosen I'll need for you to be tested for levo protein tolerance. I'm pretty much tolerant, your bodily fluids don't cause me to go into shock,  nor does your food. I do have a habit of swiping turian food, especially Jaceron. I keep epi pens and medigel in the bathrooms, bedrooms and also the kitchen. You will need to carefully file your talons, no sharp edges or burrs. I would appreciate it if you would remember to apply the medigel to my back, hips and thighs when you get a bit ... over eager." She looked at the horrified look on the human's face when she heard one of them mutter. "It's not like it hurts, feels pretty damn good if they know what they are doing with a human. I just prefer not to have blood stains on my bedsheets." A turian's flanging laugh sounded,  she smiled at him and winked.  
  
"Now before we go any further,  if any of you have problems with being part of my team, let me know now. And remember all of you signed the Council's non disclosure agreement at the start of this whole thing." She waited a few minutes then continued when no one said anything.  
  
"Okay, I take it none of you prefer male sexual partners?" No one spoke up,  the asari only shrugged,  it didn't matter to them either way. "Alright, over the next month, each one of you will be given time for us to get to know each other better. It's important you tell me if you have any issues that you felt couldn't be brought up in the group. Then we'll spend the day talking and at the Arena.  Meals will be provided for us by the Council as well as other activities." This brought a laugh from both the turians and asari, with a smile from several of the salarians that were in the room. "I'll narrow it down further,  once I get it down to who I think would complement me in battle then we will go from there."

 

* * *

  
  
The first week was spent with the humans and asari. The humans were quickly dismissed though, as one started spouting xenophobic nonsense when she insisted on dating the alien species. The other male ended up in the hospital when he thought she would be an easy lay and didn't want to take no for answer.

The couple of asari worked well with her in the arena and she was honest with them both. She told them she had no sexual interest in their species,  but wouldn't dismiss them outright because of it. If they were willing to let her go about taking care of her needs with others as they could do the same, then there wouldn't be any problem. The one thanked her for her honesty but bowed out,  she wanted a real mate. Shepard wished her well and thanked her for her forbearance with the whole ordeal.  
  
The next week started with the salarians,  she found the three of them devious in the Arena,  their ingenuity astounded her. They didn't care if she wanted to mate outside their bond. They were not a hormonal driven species,  unlike humans, and understood. She chose the one that didn't seem to have the proclivity of talking a mile a minute to stay. She thanked the others,  asking if they could get together once in a while to have fun in the arena, they smiled at her and said they would like that if their schedules were clear.

The last 4 days of the week was centered around the various turians. They were all well disciplined in the arena, several seemed to compliment her battle tactics more than others. The ones that had close to the same skill set, thanked her for the enjoyable day and dinner then left knowing they wouldn't be the one she chose, as they couldn't offer her anything in the way of specialized support on the battlefield.  
  
That left her with one asari, one salarian and 3 turians.

 

* * *

  
  
Nihlus was sitting up against the headboard when she came out of the bathroom, "so, I've been going over the 5 you picked. They all should work well as a partner on the field, but you know that with the asari and salarian you would have to find someone while you were on shore leave. That can get risky in certain areas, not to mention even being able to find someone remotely interesting enough for a quick fuck. Concentrate on the turians. You already know what we're like. They already know once they bond with you that you would prefer no one else. Same with them, if they are still here then they are fine with it."  
  
She huffed and climbed into his bed, "yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Friends with benefits only with an added bonding to it."

He nuzzled her,  "you never know you might grow to want that bond on a different level."

She sighed then ran her hand up his carapace, "maybe."  
  
"I'm thinking I may need a bigger apartment. After all having a turian bond mate means needing a much bigger kitchen. Also since you guys are a lot bigger than I am,  well those tiny showers just won't do. I think I need a hot tub as well,  to soothe my poor abused body from a turians vigorous lovemaking." She straddled him and he tossed the datapad to the side. He knew when she made her final choice she would no longer be willing to have sex with him. He was really going to miss this human.

 

* * *

  
  
She met with the three remaining turians. This was the last week she had to make her choice. She went over everything that was needed from them,  and what she was willing to give them in return. Questions and answers flew back and forth. Then the one turian finally got up the nerve to ask if she really had sex with a turian before. She grinned then proceeded to describe a male turians body, his favorite position and finally before it got too graphic the male laughed and held up his hand.  
  
Her omni tool gave a lilting ring and she answered it. Nihlus was on his way,  he wanted to see her. He just got his assignment and would be leaving in 2 hours. When he got there he slid into the booth beside her,  gave her a quick nuzzle then explained what was going on.  
  
"So it's going to be one of these three?"He asked her as he looked over the other three turians seated around the table.

She nodded to him and started eating again.  
  
"Shepard is crap when it comes to hacking. The rest of her tech skills are pretty decent,  she kicks ass on the battlefield." He looked at her and waited for her to start drinking before he told them, "her favorite position is on her hands and knees on the bed, while you fuck her standing up from behind. It makes her scream every time." Then while she was coughing and trying to clean up the drink that she sprayed all over the table, he slid out of the booth.  His flanging laugh followed him as he headed quickly for the door.  
  
"God,  he's such a bastard sometimes."


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

 

 

Shepard stood in front of the Council and transferred the file on her chosen mate. They had spoken in length on what she was looking for in a partner,  logged so many hours in the simulator that the Council probably paid for the building's mortgage for the next year and even went so far as to discuss their sexual preferences.  
  
She hated being used like this. But being constantly nagged at by the Alliance,  having the damn Ambassador breathing down her neck every time she came to the Ambassador offices. Nihlus telling her she deserved the damn Spectre status, that she worked hard for it.  She finally gave in and picked a battlefield partner. If they got along in the bedroom that's just icing on the cake. Friends with benefits had its uses. One of which was never having to worry about picking up a disease from some skank in a bar, that while being falling off your ass drunk, looked clean and presentable.  
  
"Lieutenant Gaius Verex,  turian sentinel, formerly of the 43rd Marine Division. Decorated for outstanding service on three separate occasions. As he is dextro amino based and I am not,  we will need a different apartment. One with a larger kitchen and shower unit. And as turian plating can damage my skin I request a hot tub be added to soothe the strained muscles and abrasions that will be the medical outcome of mating with him. Since this is something that the Council has demanded as a requirement, I am putting it forth as a medical necessity."  
  
A tall,  broad shouldered turian stepped forward from the gathered crowd behind her and joined her at the podium. He was well over six feet tall, his hide was jet black and his plates were those of a light grey. His colony markings were also black, a thick stripe that went from temple to temple across his eyes and nose plate, then went down the right side of his face to his mandible where it became thinner, running the length of it, dead center. His brilliant green eyes, reminding her so much of Nihlus, glanced down at her for a second before turning back toward the Councilors.  
  
"We have decided on a bonding ceremony at the end of this week. That should give you time to assign us our new quarters,  with the changes that have been requested, and for us to get it furnished. After the bonding and our honeymoon period is over I can once again assume my duties as Spectre to the Council."  
  
Sparatus, looked at her, "sugar moon,  what is this sugar moon you speak of?"

Shepard's lips twitched,  ahh, the wonderful glitches of translators, "not sugar moon, honeymoon. It is a period of time that the newlyweds use to celebrate their marriage,  apart from work or other duties. They learn about each other on a more ... physical level. It is a time of seclusion away from other family and friends,  to explore each other and to relax together before their married life truly begins. And the stresses that comes from being bonded with a Spectre will undoubtedly outweigh the regular ones he would have encountered with a bonding of his own choosing. We have chosen a week long stay on Earth,  at a resort called the Golden Sands. It is a beach location, even though he has stated that turians do not swim, he agreed to go. The warm sun and sand should be welcoming for him."  
  
Tevos looked at her, "this candidate is a turian biotic. Are you quite sure you are comfortable with someone like him? To be blunt they are not very welcomed even in their own society and are very rare. If you were looking for a biotic to join you, wouldn't an asari have been a better match?"  
  
"I don't give a shit if he is a biotic. His service record is exemplary. His abilities on the battlefield will greatly compliment my own. I got along very well with him both in the simulator and while on our regular dates. As far as asari ... unlike what your species have always been so proud to exclaim, not everyone finds one of your kind sexually attractive. To put it bluntly,  I like my lovers to have dicks not boobs. I have a feeling mating with him will be more than satisfying in that regard."  
  
Gaius looked down at her, his mandibles twitching, a grin splitting his face. She spotted Sparatus, twitching as well although he was struggling to hide it. Shepard only raised her eyebrow and stared back at the asari. "I - I see. Very well Shepard. It was your choice after all." Tevos stuttered a bit then wiped a blue hand down her red and white dress.  
  
"Uh-huh." Shepard sucked her teeth making a sound like she just ate something sour. "We want a civil bonding ceremony,  nothing big. I have agreed to wear the markings,  but just as paint for the first two years. A sort of trial period,  you could say. If our bond grows then I would be more willing to get the tattooing done. I have put in a request for a supply of the paint and several brushes. We will need to practice to get it right for the ceremony. A large supply of the paint and remover is also needed for when we come back from the honeymoon and are on missions. I do not want to shame him or the Turian Hierarchy by having run out and not able to make the proper markings. I ask that you provide the learning supplies and the first supply of paint. After that we will take care of it. Think of it as a wedding gift to us." She transferred a file to their consoles, "here is the name and contact information for the chemist that can make a skin safe variant of the paint and remover. Be warned it may not be an exact match to the blackness of his markings. The chemist warned the ingredients of it can sometimes give a more smoky appearance,  like that of the markings around my eyes, rather than the true black of turian tattooing inks."  
  
"Of course, Shepard. That is a reasonable request." Sparatus said to her, while authorizing the expenditure.  
  
They finished up the meeting then the Council adjourned for the day. Shepard waited until they were outside of the Citadel Towers before starting to laugh. "Did you see Tevos' face when I told her I preferred males. Ahh,  priceless."  
  
Gaius started to laugh as well, "why do I get the feeling you do that sort of thing to aggravate them? You are a Spectre,  or soon will be,  yet you antagonize the ones that gives you the assignments." They started walking toward the rapid transit terminal to go to the chemist for their supplies,  she also wanted to take him to see the Normandy and view the updates she had requested.  
  
"I do it because they constantly piss me off. They first told me it would be a year of being mentored,  then it became two. Then they wait until I did that to tell me that I had no choice but to marry. Not giving me the opportunity to even chose a mate at first, had I wanted one. They never even bothered to ask if I already was involved seriously with someone. Don't get me wrong,  I'm just as pissed at my own Ambassador and the Alliance brass for not telling me. Not just that though,  they also have a damned annoying habit of withholding intel for the missions. Especially ones that has something involved that they want to cover up." They got into the skycar and she programmed in the coordinates for the chemist.  
  
"So bonding with me really isn't something you wanted to do?" Gaius looked at her,  his mandibles were tight to his face.

"Bonding or marrying anyone was not something I wanted to do right now. I would have preferred to have been able to do it the old fashioned way in my culture. Go out,  meet someone,  date for a while then if I really liked the guy,  maybe lived with him for a bit before this whole marriage thing. As it is, I'm glad to have found someone that fits well with me on the battlefield. If we get along and enjoy each others company off the battlefield, well that's a bonus for me. If you aren't satisfied with our downtime activities then I expect you to tell me. If for any reason you don't want to remain on the Normandy you need to tell me.  I don't want to have someone that really doesn't want to be on the team on board the ship,  too many things can go wrong. If being assigned to a turian ship would make you happier, we can figure something out,  as long as we continue to follow those damn regulations. I don't want this to reflect on either of our records for dereliction of duties. And like Nihlus told me,  we never know we may come to like each other and want a real bond."  
  
She looked over at him as the skycar landed, "and don't give me that turians follow orders stuff. That wasn't a command from a higher ranking officer it was a request from your soon to be bond mate."  They picked up the order of brushes and cosmetic paint along with a rather large unmarked box that she had peeked into seeing it contained their specialized prophylactics and a supply of epi pens. They loaded the car and headed for the docks and the Normandy.

 

* * *

  
  
"Attention,  Commanding Officer on board." The shout echoed down the path leading from the bridge to the Command Center. Every one stood at attention as she entered the area.

"At ease,  everyone. Back to your duties. Pressly, after I speak with Joker we will need a tour of the ship. I want reports on the upgrades that I requested and any issues that has arisen."

The older gentleman saluted her, " yes, ma'am. Will have them ready for you." He turned and quickly headed down the passage toward the large command center where the galaxy map was.  
  
"Joker,  how's everything going? Anything I should know about that the others won't tell me?"

Joker turned a bit in his chair and looked at her, "nah,  not really. Unless you count the whole pissed off thing the entire crew is feeling about the Council making you get married. They all feel you earned that spot as a Spectre and shouldn't have to shack up with some alien just to be awarded it. Hell, they even yelled when the scuttlebutt went around about what that dumbass human did,  he deserved more than a concussion and a couple of broken bones."  
  
"Shepard, what did he mean by that?" Gaius asked as he drew closer to the pilot's chair that Shepard had been leaning against. He noticed the pilot flinch.

"One of the humans that the Council brought in as a candidate assumed that because I was marrying a complete stranger that I would be receptive to being tested out to see if I would be compatible in the bedroom as well as the battlefield. He learned otherwise."  
  
Gaius laughed lightly, "well that explains why none of us saw the humans after that." Shepard smirked and nodded at him.  
  
"Joker, open a ship wide comm for me."

She watched as Joker messed with some of the holo buttons, "all yours, Commander."  
  
"Attention all Normandy crew, this is Commander Shepard speaking. We have on board Lieutenant Gaius Verex, my soon to be bond mate. I will be bringing him by to introduce to all of you. He will be part of the ground crew and you will be respectful towards him. Any member of this crew that has an issue with non humans being on board is free to leave,  and it better be before the end of the week when we launch to go on our honeymoon. After that you can leave by the airlock, whether we are at a dock or not. I will not tolerate racial prejudices or slurs on board my ship. I hope I have made myself clear as crystal. Be ready with reports when we hit your areas. Shepard out."  
  
"Damn, Commander. Way to crack that whip." Joker snarked,  his lips curled in smirk.

"Yeah, yeah keep it up smart ass. Do you have everything you need,  other than that leather seat you bitched about the last time I was on board?"  
  
"Yeah,  the doc made sure she was stocked. I used the Council provided extranet to download another zetabyte of porn and upgraded my Fornax subscription to the digital lifetime. I think I'm good to go. Oh,  almost forgot,  in case you needed it, I got you some of that turian on human stuff too. Surprisingly,  there was a shit ton of it available."  
  
"Aww,  aren't you just the sweetest for thinking about my needs when it comes to figuring out how to screw my husband." She tapped the brim of his hat and turned walking down the path toward the main part of the ship.  
  
"Shepard,  do you allow all your subordinates to speak that way to you?" Gaius asked her as he followed along behind her, looking over her shoulder when she stopped to view one of the monitors.

"Nope, that's Joker. I met him when Captain Anderson first showed me the ship a couple of months ago. He's a special case as is the doctor. And don't be upset at the way he flinched from you. It wasn't because you're a turian. He's got something called Vrolik's Syndrome. It makes his bones as brittle as glass and he doesn't like most people to get anywhere near him. At least until he gets to know someone, then he'll chance it."  
  
They worked their way down to the CIC area,  stopping and looking at the monitors, asked questions of the attending staff member then moving on. Pressly handed her a datapad and she started scrolling her way through it while Gaius took note of the people around him. He hadn't been around quite so many humans on a ship before. To be honest not so many humans ever. His attention was drawn to her once more when he heard her speak to the older human male. "Pressly,  there is no mention of the foodstuffs or items specifically for Gaius on here. Have they been delivered?"  
  
"Sorry, ma'am but the only provisions on board are levo based. We had an issue with the resource requisitions division." He handed her a separate pad and she frowned as she read over it.

"I don't recognize this name, Pressly,  who is this person and where is he."

Pressly stood straighter and told her the person in question was assigned to the ship several weeks after her first visit. "The Requisitions officer you put in charge spoke to me and told me he hadn't requested another person, so I double checked the orders ma'am. They were genuine,  the Petty Officer was reassigned here by Brass. I had Joker dig into the records a bit because the man didn't come off as one that would fit into the crew, seems his records were sealed past the reassignment. We don't know anything about him, ma'am."  
  
"Joker,  get me a private line to PO Jones." Shepard continued to look through the information on the datapads. "Jones,  this is Commander Shepard, I just heard about the new guy. Send the order through, make sure to double whatever you were going to originally order. Keep an eye on the person. Reassign him to a different detail,  I don't care if it is counting rolls of toilet paper. It's an order. Report straight to me if he causes another problem or doesn't do his job. No, Jones,  I don't care if he is here from the Brass. It is my ship. I won't tolerate trouble makers." There was a pause before she drew her eyebrows down, "no, Jones. I put you in charge down there, I don't give a shit if he actually outranks you. If he gives you problems you contact me, I'll set him straight then kick his ass right off of here."  
  
Several minutes later Gaius was leaning against the wall as several people hurried past him whispering and he saw one glance back before they hurried around the corner. He let out a snorting breath. He was used to being ignored, jammed into one of the lower areas of the ship and kept separate from the rest of the crew. Turian biotics were not welcomed and viewed with suspicion and disdain by other turians. They were placed in Cabals,  small units, and assigned out to some of the more dangerous missions. But rarely ever interacted with while not on the battlefield.  
  
He readjusted his pose against the wall and watched his soon to be bond mate go over more details on that datapad. Once in awhile laughing at something the older human told her. Finally she nodded and shook the man's hand before turning to him and smiling. That was another thing, he had no idea what the hell to do with a human. He really had no sexual partners outside of his own Cabal so never thought he would have to do something like bond with a human. He never thought he would bond with anyone. Now not only is his mate a human but a Spectre at that.  
  
He had been surprised to say the least when the orders to report to the Citadel had come through, from the Council no less. His ship was met by one sent to pick him up the next day and he had no idea what happened to gain the attention of the Council. There were whispers of course,  everything from Spectre to imprisonment. No one on board thought it was going to be for bonding. He pushed off from the wall when she got closer to him.  
  
"Ready to go see the rest of the ship?"  
  
He let out a hum and followed her onto the small elevator. They went through most of the ship, hitting the main areas first. They stopped in to see the CMO on board, a Doctor Karin Chakwas,  who insisted that before they leave for their honeymoon he stopped by to begin his exam. She insisted it was to make sure her records were as up to date as possible and if anything needed to be done it could be taken care of before they launched for their first mission. He of course agreed,  and she told him how excited she was to have one of the rare turian biotics on board. He flicked his mandibles at her and told her he was pleased to be a member of the crew. He didn't see the way she fanned herself as he walked out of the room and Shepard had turned back for a second,  all he heard was a chuckle behind him.  
  
They encountered several of the people she told him was part of her ground crew and introduced them. The male stuttered a bit, his eyes constantly flicking to Shepard. Gaius noticed the way they would move over her body before returning to his and he pulled his mandibles into his face. Did this human male desire the Commander? He would have to ask if the male was her mate, he didn't care if they were sexual partners before their bonding but they had both agreed to follow the dictates of turian custom and not mate outside of their bonding. He had been relieved to find out that she was a human that followed that custom as well. She had told him about her relationship with Nihlus. He didn't understand at first until she explained that he only followed the dictates of the Council, the asari was not a true bonded mate,  only in the eyes of the Council. Not in either of theirs. He had never marked her.  
  
His eyes turned toward the female and caught the pheromone scent of hatred and distrust. He made a mental note to keep an eye on this one. The mess hall was packed with people and she stood on the table to introduce him to them all at once,  her voice carried to the very back of the large area. There were shouts of welcome at him,  some shouts of telling him he was a lucky bastard and a few shouts at how the Council were a bunch of dumbasses. She yelled back that even though she agreed with the sentiment to keep it to themselves.  
  
They finished up the tour down in the cargo hold,  Jones had asked for a minute of her time and went over everything that he had ordered. She noticed several cargo containers being brought on and he told her that it was the turian's food and other items that he thought her husband would need or want. Since the Council was footing the bill he ordered some of everything, she laughed as he gave a shrug and grinned at her. She passed the datapad to Gaius who grinned at the short human male and looked over the list. There were more things here for him that what he was accustomed to. Some of which only the Captain or the highest ranked officers would be able to get a hold of. "If there is something that I missed just let me know, Lieutenant, I'll place the order right away for you."  
  
Gaius doubted there was anything that had been overlooked and gave the human a hum in response. He looked up when he felt Shepard elbow him. She tipped her head toward the human male who was still standing there looking confused. "You keep forgetting we can't hear the subharmonics or interpret the hums or clicks from turians all that well."  
  
His mandibles fluttered, "sorry. I am still getting used to being around humans and I do forget those sorts of things. I doubt anything has been missed and thank you for going to all this trouble." The human grinned at him and then waited to be dismissed before hurrying back over to his post in front of the terminal. They turned and noticed one of the other workers staring at them with a scowl on his face.  
  
_This must be the troublemaker._ Shepard narrowed her eyes at him, "you got a problem, soldier? Get back to work and if I hear one more complaint or have one more issue with you I will send you packing back to HQ so fast they'll think I stuffed a warp drive up your ass." She waited until the man had turned and wandered back into the cargo holding area before she moved toward the elevator.  
  
Gaius didn't say anything but he took note of the way Shepard would mumble to herself, some of the words made no sense and he put it down to faulty translation software. "There is one more place to look at Gaius, I need to make sure the changes have been made or if I need to make different ones to the rooms. They'll have a few more days to finish up before we leave."  
  
Shepard pushed the button for the new captain's deck. The retrofit crew decided to move her to an upper deck in order to more easily accommodate the changes she had requested. She put in the passcode to her door, setting a note to herself to change it if everything was ready and she was satisfied in the set up.  
  
When the door swished open she let out an "ooh" as she walked through the open door. The room was now over twice as large with a lower level set up as a separate sleeping area. The large king size bed dominated that part of the room. There were small tables on either side of the bed,  both holding lamps. Storage space was above the bed in the form of small square cubicles. She walked down and noticed several blinking lights. She pushed the button next to the first one and a small holo popped up with a VI that explained the control panel. The holo buttons would open various storage spaces to hold armor, clothing and linens for both the bed and bath. There was an exact duplicate of the set up on the other side for Gaius,  only the spaces were larger to accommodate his larger clothing and armors. She sent a request down to the RO for sheets and bath linens, with a note to make sure to get the ones made from turian fabrics in order to keep his talons from tearing them.  
  
Gaius was still in the upper area looking it over, a set of matching desks and chairs with terminals and supplies was already there for them. He wandered over and pressed the flashing red button and the door opened in the wall revealing a large shower area. He walked in noticing there was multiple shower heads, some set higher in the stall than others. The panel showed that not only did it have a sonic setting but a water setting as well. Shepard came in noting the same thing then reached around him and hit the sonic button. A barrier came up encasing the entire stall area and they saw all of the shower heads activate. She laughed and said she had requested a shower big enough for both of them,  she just didn't think the retrofit crew would take it literally. They had built it big enough for both of them to shower together with plenty of room to spare.  
  
"Hmm,  I think the changes they made are satisfactory. Is there anything you think needs to be changed for your specific needs?" She pushed the button turning off the shower and opened the cabinets checking to see what had already been stocked.

"No, Shepard. I think this would do nicely." She glanced up at him when she noticed the tone of his voice.  
  
"What are you laughing about?" They walked out of the room and she sat at the chair in front of the slightly smaller desk.

"I am a biotic, Shepard. Used to sleeping down below decks in cramped quarters with the other outcasts. This is more luxury that I could have ever dreamed of. Not to mention the items that your staff has already purchased for me." He took the other chair and swiveled toward her. "Are you sure about this, Shepard? About bonding with me and not one of the other turians."

She looked over at him and leaned back in her chair, "I am positive. If you are having doubts though we can talk it over. I don't think the Council would appreciate us changing our minds though. But if something is wrong, well, they'll just have to suck it up."  
  
Gaius let out a sigh, "not having doubts other than not sure if you are going to be satisfied with me. Turians look at ones such as myself with mistrust and we aren't treated like the others. I do not know how they would treat you once bonded to me. Unlike humans, we turians bond for life, if it is a true bond. Once marked by me you will be tied to me until I die. Are you sure about this?" He watched as she tapped the corner of a datapad on the edge of her desk.  
  
"Gaius, let me tell you something right now. If I wasn't sure that we would suit then you wouldn't be sitting there. Choosing you was not something I did on a whim or as a "fuck you" to the Council. I studied your military records, I went over the recordings of our time in the arena. The questions I asked during our dates, were asked for a specific reason. Since the damn Council took away my right to choose a mate for love and have one shoved at me,  I made damn sure to find one that I was going to work well with. One that I got along well enough with outside of the fighting."  
  
She got up and paced to the far wall where another holo button was glowing and pushed it. A section of the wall slid away revealing a hidden cooler stocked with alcohol and water. Along with a box marked chocolates. She let out a snort and turned back to him after pushing the button again. "I will admit the uniqueness of you did have something to do with it. All of the turians fell into the promising category, but you had something they didn't. Your biotics will be useful, will come as a surprise against those we have to come up against. I doubt any of them have encountered someone like you before. And that surprise may be what turns the battle in our favor."  
  
She leaned against her desk,  his eyes still following her,  he had yet to say anything more to her. "Plus your one hot, sexy turian. I would have been a fool to overlook that." She gave him a lopsided grin which caused his mandibles to flutter and a light laugh to come out. "Relax, Gaius. We will deal with any shit that comes up." She sent down an updated request for supplies to be brought to the cabin and she sent a thank you to Joker for the booze and chocolates.  
  
"Should a time come when we want that true bonding, then all the better. As it stands now,  what we do together is none of any one elses business. That includes the Council." Shepard grinned at him as she watched him relax in that chair a bit more, slipping into his lap and laughing a bit at his startled gasp. "After dinner tonight how about if you and I sit down and start practicing placing those markings." Her index finger traced his dark markings. Unlike some of the others she had seen, his was simple and shouldn't cause any problems in replicating. But since her facial structure was different than his or a female turians they knew it would have to be changed a little but still remain recognizable as his clans.  
  
His mandibles fluttered a little, "I'd like that. I have a few thoughts on the design improvement,  something more ... delicate? Feminine? I can show you and let you choose which one you prefer." She felt his body hum as her hand drifted down his mandible. Her fingertips stroked the hide of his neck, before inching their way up to behind his fringe. She knew just where to touch him to elicit a gasp or groan. Having this human as a mate may not be such a bad thing after all.


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

 

 

They sat on the floor of his hotel room; hers was packed full of the crates of clothing and other items that used to be in the old apartment, and he opened up a small sketch pad. There was a drawing of her face, front view, and side view. She gasped and smiled at the work; it was an almost perfect likeness. "This is wonderful, Gaius. Do you draw a lot?"

His mandibles fluttered, "not really. My parents didn't think it was something worth spending time on and it was bad enough on the ship with being a member of the Cabal. Having this known wasn't something I wanted. But I am glad you like it." He picked up a packet that contained clear film overlays with various patterns already worked on them. They went over the ones he had already finished and chose several to try. She kept glancing at a packet that he had put to the side until finally she gave into her curiosity and asked about it.

His mandibles fluttered, and he cleared his throat. "That one is ... uh... well," he rubbed the back of his neck. "A bit different. I made that one for a more ... uh, permanent marking."

She reached for it before he could stop her and she pulled out the two sheets inside, laying them over the drawing of her face. The lines were thinner, open rather than solid, with swirls and small designs accenting it. It was much more intricate than the others, much more feminine and quite beautiful. "This is gorgeous work, Gaius. I swear when I am ready for another tattoo I'm having you design it."

She studied the design a bit more, "so this is what you would like should I get the markings done permanently?"

He looked down at the drawing then back at her. "I like it, but it is still a bit rough. Maybe later we can look at it again." His voice was low and his nervous clicks were still sounding. She laid it beside the ones they had picked out and she pointed to a few of the accents asking how they would look added to the paint. He tipped his head, pulled out a set of clean transparencies then picked up a marker. He started with a swirl design on her right temple with interweaving lines running down the side of her face ending in another swirl beside her mouth. Then the same lines went over her eyes and nose with small swirls between her brows and again at the left temple.

"How's that?" He looked at her and the design that was on the overlay.

She hummed and tapped her chin. "I like this one for the paint. I can add dark eyeshadow and liner to fill in the areas over my eyes." She got up, told him she would be right back then ran to her room for a small mirror and her make up kit. When she returned they set about recreating the design, changing a few things here and there to adjust to the actual shape of her face. Laughing when she tried it and it was backward to what he had drew on her because she was looking in the mirror while doing it. Hours later and a good portion of the practice paints used, they found something that was feminine, easy for her to do and they both liked.

 

* * *

 

There were very few people gathered for their bonding ceremony. Joker, Dr. Chakwas, Captain Anderson and the two of them. When Shepard asked Gaius who was coming to the ceremony on his side he just looked down at her and simply said, "no one."

The Councilors were monitoring the ceremony to make sure everything was within their guidelines.

"I still think this is bullshit. Who the hell made up shitty laws like this, they shouldn't take away someone's right to find their partner." Joker hissed out to the others as they watched the proceedings.

Both Shepard and Gaius wore their dress uniforms, and they had brought in one of the Alliance's Chaplains to officiate over the human part of the brief ceremony. Shepard had originally wanted a giant wedding and all the bells and whistles since it was going to be on the Council's and Alliance's tab, but Gaius talked her out of it. He didn't want to push their luck too much. And Anderson had almost reprimanded her for pulling the stunts she was doing as it was. So she settled for having a jewelcrafter make bracelets to exchange instead of rings. With the difference in their hands it would just work out better. What she didn't tell them was she ordered the most expensive ones the crafter could make and put it in for rush ordering which almost doubled the cost. Since it was part of the actual wedding ceremony that had dated back hundreds of years the Council couldn't do more the squawk when the bill had come in.

After the human exchange of the bracelets, which sparkled with gems and had to have been made from precious metals, causing Anderson to let out a groan as he should have realized she would stick it to the Council and Alliance at least one more time before this was over, they began the turian part.

The Council didn't want any way for her to wiggle out of it. They didn't seem to either know or care that most of this crap was already wiggled out of by the Spectres once that paper was signed and they went about their own business anyway.

The turians didn't have the exchange of vows like the human ceremony did. The male just simple said he would do his duty to her, protect and care for her and uphold the tenets of the Hierarchy. Gaius then reached for the small box containing the paints and applicators. He gently used a special cloth to wipe her face down where the paint would go. When he was done he carefully applied the black paint to her face. It was a slow process as he wanted to get it perfect. To have any flaws in the design would bring dishonor to them both and to his clan. When he was done he carefully applied a crystalline powder to her face, drying and setting the pattern to her skin.

They both saw the holo image of Councilor Sparatus lean forward, studying what had been made and looking at a datapad in front of him, before nodding his approval. The turian officiate pronounced them as a mated couple and Gaius dropped his head down, barely brushing his crest against her forehead before standing straight. After the officiate had them sign the documents and he filed them, they all left the small office where the ceremony was being held. Anderson shook her hand and gave a brief congratulations to them both before heading out. The human Ambassador, who couldn't be bothered to come to the proceedings or do more than harass her at every possible moment, just gave a harrumph and walked past. He had railed and flung his fist in the air yelling "this is an outrage" when she had chosen the turian over the humans.

She pulled out a small pack and had him hold a tiny mirror as she applied the dark eyeshadow and liner to her eyes. The chemist was able to put together a powder and liquid that almost matched the black paint. Once she was satisfied she put it all away and they walked toward the elevator at the far end of the atrium.

"We have one stop to make before heading out. You made sure all of the items got to the new apartment, and it had everything that I requested?" Shepard asked him as they walked down the stairs. She was garnering stares from people who had noticed the clan markings she wore.

"Yes, they arrived yesterday. I double-checked the list to make sure it all made it, then did a walk through. Everything was ready but for the shower. The workers were still upgrading it, something about having to redo the entire room because of wiring for the hot tub and having to move two walls."

When the skycar reached the terminal closest to her programmed destination, she got out and led him to a small arts and craft store. "What are we doing here, Shepard?" He looked around nervously.

"Grab what you need to draw with, Gaius. I don't want you hiding your talent away. People like you, with true talent, are quite rare. Plus where we are going, it is said to have wonderful sunsets as well as sunrises, and I would like for you to make drawings of it put up. Not just take holos to add to frames for the walls."

He stared at her for several moments before she made a shooing motion at him. While he shopped, she sent a message to the Normandy, telling them to prep for departure and a separate one to Pressly asking if there had been any more problems. His answer came back as a negative or at least nothing had been reported. Joker sent a brief reply telling her they were ready and that this damn resort better be well stocked with umbrellas for his drinks. She gave a brief laugh which caused Gaius to look up at her.

 

* * *

 

He went up to put the drawing supplies in his storage cube when they reached the Normandy, still not quite believing that she didn't seem to mind him spending time doing something so frivolous. As a matter of fact, she seemed to encourage him to spend even more time doing it. When he was done, he headed back down to the CIC deck and joined her on the bridge where she was talking with her pilot as he navigated them to the Mass Relay that would take them to the Sol System.

When they exited the other side and drew closer to the planet they had told him was Earth he drew in a breath.

It was breathtaking. Swirls of purest white, large areas of blue and green. If he had his supplies, he would have started a drawing of what he was looking at. Instead, he snapped several holos.

"This is your first time seeing Earth, Lieutenant?" Joker asked him from his seat at the console.

"Yes. Normally I don't see the planets I am sent for missions on until the shuttle lands on them." He was still looking at what the front cameras were showing when Joker shifted. "Your planet looks incredible from here, Flight Lieutenant."

"Uh, you can just call me Joker."

Shepard hid a slight grin behind her hand at their stilted beginnings of a friendship and watched as Joker flipped several screens and quickly moved his fingers over the panels. "That there is Luna, our moon." Joker seemed to enjoy playing tour guide to the stars as he made several more adjustments and instead of going right to the docking station above Earth he circled around the planet letting Gaius get several more holo shots and answers to more questions. Finally he sent in the request for docking permission and they went to the cabin to grab their luggage as Joker brought them into their docking bay.

 

* * *

 

"Attention crew. You have your assignments and the scheduled leave. I expect you all to act appropriately. You are representatives of the Alliance, Council and Spectres. Don't piss me off and interrupt my honeymoon to bail your asses out of trouble. The contact will be Navigator Pressly, any issues should first be brought up to him. If you break the laws or regs he will forward the information to me and I will decide if you get left behind at the docking station, turned into the Alliance or allowed back on board."

The two of them met with the first of the crew that was given two days of leave. PO Jones was operating a small handheld mass effect generator that had their luggage and the crate of supplies for Gaius on it, directing it toward the hotel shuttle that was waiting for them.

When they all entered the establishment they drew various looks, most of them were centered on the extremely tall alien that was now in their presence along with the human that was at his side with markings on her face that closely resembled his own.

Shepard reminded them once more that they were not to act like juveniles, which earned her a razzberry blew from Joker's direction, as they split up to head to their various floors. Jones followed them and deposited the stuff into their room before congratulating them with a grin and going to his room.

They unpacked, and Shepard said she wanted to go to the beach, Gaius was hesitant. He kept thinking about all that water.

"Come on Gaius; you don't need to go into the ocean. You can sit on the sand and soak up the sun's heat. There are still several hours before the sun starts to set here."

He moaned and groaned then gave in. She laughed and went into the bathroom to check her paint and to apply the waterproofing powder to make sure it didn't get damaged from swimming in the ocean. When she came out he was trying to figure out how to put on the beach clothes that she had bought for him. They looked nothing like his armor or the few sets of leisure clothes he had. She grinned at him and told him the string goes in the front and to pull it tight to his body when he had the shorts on. The top he already pretty much figured out.

"You humans leave your waists uncovered like this?" He asked her from where he was standing trying to pull the shorts up higher than where they were sitting just above his hips. She gave a slight laugh as she pulled out her swimsuit.

"Our waists aren't an erotic zone like a turians are. So you will probably see more than just bare waists on the beach." She heard him let out a hum and turned. He was still trying to get the shorts to cover his waist. She quickly changed then went and buttoned his shirt showing him that once it was closed his waist would be covered.

He grabbed a bag that had a sketchpad and some of the markers he preferred as she grabbed some towels.

It took them a little while to find two open beach chairs together, and they spread their towels down, and she reached for the hem of the long shirt she was using as a coverup. When she drew it up over top of her head, she heard a "Spirits."

She looked over at him and grinned at his lax mandibles and the way his eyes were moving over her body. "Hope you like what you see there, mister. Considering you're my mate and you're going to be seeing a lot more of it."

"Oh yeah, I like what I see. But not too thrilled at others seeing it as well." He told her as he looked around spying a lot of males eyes moving over her as well. His gaze swung back to her when she moved closer to him and started to unbutton his shirt.

"You have nothing to worry about, let them look because this is the most of me that those others will see. I'm your mate, not theirs. Not to mention I'm going to have to get used to women's eyes roaming over you as well while we are here." She shoved his shirt off of him and he let out a bark of laughter.

"Yeah, I don't think that's going to be happening."

She just grinned and pulled him down towards the water, "Shepard? What the hell are you doing?"

"Come on, just get your toes wet."

She surprised him when she turned around after she pulled him far enough out that the waves just barely reached his spurs, and placed her hands on his carapace, running them up to his neck and stroking slightly. "See not so bad is it."

He looked down at her, his eyes growing hot when he felt her brush one of her hands on his waist, her nails scraping on him. After a moment his hand settled on her waist and gave her a stroke. "No, Shepard. I don't think this is going to be so bad at all."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NSFW chapter, enjoy.

* * *

 

 

Gaius being in the water didn't last long, the moment Shepard turned and dove into the surf he backpedaled out of the water and stood on the warm sand to watch her for a moment before heading back to the chairs.

Grabbing up his sketchbook and markers he started to draw from his memory the way she had looked when she pulled her covering off. She was certainly different from his own people, soft and curvy. Not all plates and angles. One of the things that his parents really didn't like, was the way he was able to see the beauty in things. Didn't matter what it was, he always saw it differently than they did. Other races especially. Even if they couldn't see it in his own... see it in him.

It was true he didn't have much contact with other races, shore leave was the only time he could interact with others. Though once they saw the sign of being a member of a Cabal they usually were quick to drop their flirtation and leave. The few times he was on the Citadel was better, he could sit in a shadowed hidden spot and draw people of so many different races, of things that most people wouldn't bother to even look at. The trees in bloom, the flowers in the Presidium Garden. The couple's hidden touches when they thought no one was looking, the way they would gaze at each other with that certain look in their eyes that was so very hard to capture on paper.

He let out a sigh and looked up, his gaze traveling across all the Humans on the beach. His eyes coming to rest on a distant figure of a woman just coming to shore and he gave a small Turian grin. She had already started to turn his life upside down with her easy acceptance of him being a biotic, of his love of art. Not to mention in the few months that they have known each other he had laughed and smiled more than he had since his biotics had manifested and his world changed.

 

* * *

 

That evening she ordered room service as his dinner heated in the room's small warmer unit. He sat down with his pad open and a notebook, making notes in it and adding slash marks with his markers beside certain choices. A piece of paper was torn out and he made several marks on it, then used some strange tool and made a scribbling motion over it, the colors blended together and he made a few adjustments to the different markers and blended them again until he was satisfied. A new note was added and Shepard watched as he took a long pencil and began a small drawing from a holo.

"What're you doing now?", she asked as she watched him start to add the colors of the water to his drawing.

"Making a test sketch and color before I draw the real thing. Your planet has so many color differences when the sun moves or a shadow is cast at different times of the day. I want to try and find just the right, "time", for the main sketch. The one that I thought we could hang right above that holo fireplace you insisted they install in the living room area. Once I'm sure I have just the right colors, I'll do a larger one and add in the details, from there the main one will be done on the ship with one of the large specialty canvases you had me purchase." His mandibles flicked at her, knowing full well she had figured out a way to twist it into something needful and passed the cost off to the Alliance.

"Oh, you mean one of those stress relief, art therapy canvases, that was recommended by a certified therapist for the "relief of boredom and anxiety while being on a ship for an extended period of time" canvases." She let out a laugh as the look that must have appeared on the Committee for Alliance Special Affairs faces when they were hit with that bill flashed in her mind.

"Yeah, one of those," he couldn't help but give her a grin.

 

* * *

 

That night he couldn't stop the nervous hum and clicks that came from him as he prepared for bed. The first night that he would share a bed with his mate ... a Human. He could only hope that all that time spent watching those movies that her pilot had sent him would pay off. A flash of her being disappointed and turning to Nihlus came to him, then left. One thing Shepard was, was a female that kept her word. She may skirt around things, make things difficult for those that piss her off. But she held firm to her promise and word once given. Nihlus had sent him a long message on the matter when her decision had been made, several tips on what she liked the most and what not to do if he didn't want her to punch him and leave him hard and hurting, it also contained a not so subtle threat about emasculation should he do anything to hurt her.

He wandered out to the sitting room, opened the tiny cooler and grabbed several of the bottles of liquor from the shelf that was dextro safe. He twisted the caps and upended them one after the other, swallowing their contents and hoping that it would help calm him.

"Hey, you ok there, Gaius?" Shepard's calm voice sounded from behind him as he finished the last small bottle off and tossed it into the receptacle next to the cooler.

He let out a small chuckle, "yeah, I have no fucking idea what the hell to do with a Human, Shepard. I know we talked about this, I watched really badly acted porn, and I know if I tried some of that stuff with you it would hurt. I-I just don't know."

She walked up behind him and circled her arms around his waist, her head laying on his back, "I do know. Gaius, do you trust me? Will you listen and let me guide you?"

He felt soft pressings and what must have been her breath on his back, her hands stroked across his abdomen to his waist where she scraped her nails on him and squeezed. He closed his eyes and his mandibles fluttered to the sides. Those slender fingers of hers worked themselves along his carapace, pressing here and digging in between his plates there, causing him to shudder or groan. He let out a hiss as his mandibles fluttered when he felt those fingers slide under the waistband of the loose pants he had on, one of those talented fingers unerringly found the seam between his groin plates and stroked. The other hand undid the tie on those pants and he felt them fall to around his spurs, that same hand stroking his hip and thigh.

He felt his plates shift open and he emerged into her warm palm with a gasp. His head tipped back and he let out several clicks as she began to stroke him. From the wider base, up his entire length before her fingertips skimmed over his narrower head and back down again. He let out a mewling groan when she removed her hand and pulled on his hips, turning him toward her. He gasped again as she pressed those warm, fleshy lips of her to his abdomen as she began to kneel in front of him. His eyes never leaving her as she worked the pants over his spurs and his feet before she ran her hands up his calves, over his spurs to his thighs.

He shuddered and leaned against the counter as her hands enveloped him again, stroking and lightly squeezing, he almost passed out as he felt her tongue touch him, running up his length. His eyes drifted closed as he felt her lips encase him, the warm wetness of her mouth sliding down over him. The sensations she was causing was like nothing he could have imagined, and he did try to imagine it when he saw the Human women on those vids doing this to their partners, but nothing could compare to the real thing.

He let out a disappointed groan and she gave a laugh when her mouth left him. It took a few seconds for his eyes to focus on her, and saw her fringe... _no, hair_ , hanging down her back and the sheer scraps covering her body. His cock gave a twitch as he watched her run her hands over the two bumps on her chests, _what were they called again? Breasts... yes, that was it._ His mandibles fluttered and he let out a moan as he watched her stroke a finger over the thin covering of her sex, the scent of her arousal reaching his nose.

He reached out and covered her hand with his and she slipped hers out from under it to guide his fingers on how to touch her, what she liked. Once she felt him taking over, her hand was once more on him and her eyes met his as she gasped when this talons sliced through the skimpy scrap of underwear she had on, before feeling the smooth back of one stroking between her legs. He let out a growl when his finger gently inserted itself in her. The heated moisture dripping over him, he eased his talon out of her then back inside several times, seeing the way her mouth opened on a gasp and her hand tightened on him.

"Let's take this to the bedroom," she said and grinned when he picked her up, wrapping her long legs around his waist and carried her to the bed.

Her tongue slid along his mandible and he stumbled slightly before starting to walk faster. His legs bumped into the large bed and he bent to lower her down on it, she let go of him with her arms but kept her legs wrapped around him, her hips flexed and slid her wet opening over him and he growled, reaching into the nightstand with one hand to remove a silver wrapped packet from inside. She slid along him again and he almost dropped it, tearing it open hastily and rolling it down over himself as she eased her legs from him slightly.

He nudged her opening again with the back of his talon and gave a hiss when he saw her pinching and rolling her nipples between her fingers. He shifted slightly, his palm cradling her ass as his other hand positioned himself at her opening. His eyes met hers and she grinned then arched her back and gasped as he pushed deep inside her.

"Spirits, Shepard," he groaned as he withdrew and sank back into her. She moaned as he slid out slowly and thrust back in, sliding deeper. His eyes dropped to where their bodies were connected and he watched as he withdrew and pushed back in, harder than before, the speed of his thrusts faster as he claimed her. Growls emitted from him as he hilted, pulling out and slamming back in, her cries of his name and for more, harder and faster were loud in the room.

He felt her body tense moments before she clamped around him and cried out as she pulsed with her release. He hissed at the tightness and groaned when she moaned at him to not stop but to keep fucking her, she wanted more. He kept up the pace, his breathing heavy and ragged until he felt her body loosen, he pulled out completely to her gasp and rolled her over to her hands and knees before slamming back into her, causing a scream to rip from her throat.

His hand ran up her back as he pounded into her, forcing her upper body down to the mattress, when he was sure she wouldn't move he gripped her hips in both his hands, continuing the punishing pace he had set, that had her moaning for more... more... more. His body started to glow with a purple light and he sent pulses along his hands and cock releasing his biotic energy each time he hit deep inside, when he felt her clamp down again, he pushed in deep and with a groan released both his hot seed and another biotic pulse with each spurt of his release into her core, causing her to scream out his name and shake with her own orgasm.

She groaned, then hissed when she felt him withdraw, before she collapsed on the bed in a boneless heap. He chuckled at the satisfied sigh she gave out. He bent over her and nuzzled the back of her head, "I'll be right back." She muttered something he didn't catch before he went into the bathroom to dispose of the condom and clean himself before he receded back into his sheath and behind his plates. When he was back in the bedroom he noticed she was under the covers already. He turned out the lights and slid into his own side of the bed, his body feeling tired and very sated, he let out a yawn and sighed as she snuggled back against him. His arm draped over her and within moments they were both sound asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the chapter.
> 
> Just a quick reminder, I don't use a proofreader for this story, so any and all mistakes are purely my own. I am trying to improve my grammar and punctuation, so my stories are easier to read.

* * *

 

 

Shepard came awake slowly, the sweet ache between her legs testament to her husband's vigorous lovemaking last night and early this morning. She grinned, oh yeah, this will work out perfectly. They had the bedroom stuff going for them, once he got past his hesitancy. After their honeymoon, they would see how well they mesh on a real battlefield. She wiggled her hand; that thought can wait, they still had several more days and nights here before then.

She yawned and rolled over toward her mate. Gaius' green eyes were open, and he looked at her, she gave him a smile and stroked his mandible as he let out the breath he had been holding.

"Good morning, Gaius."

"Good morning. Sleep well?"

She gave him a wicked grin. "Oh yeah. I was worn out right and proper by my mate. I slept like a rock." She gave a stretch, and he ran his hand along her waist and gave a squeeze.

"You're going to have to wait for next round, at least until after I use the bathroom and brush my teeth. Morning breath kisses suck." She rolled away from him and got up, she heard his growl and looked back over her shoulder with a smirk as she walked out of the room.

When they finally got around to leaving the hotel room, they ended up wandering around the local markets, and she purchased some fruits to be sent back to the Normandy for storage. After lunch, they headed back down to the beach where several of the crew stopped to talk to them before they headed out to do their own thing.

"You're not going swimming?" Gaius asked as he drew out his pad and markers again.

She let out a contented sigh as she slathered on a sunblock then laid back on the beach chair. "Nope, gonna lay here in the sun and let it toast me."

He sputtered, "What? The sun can cook you?"

She snorted then started laughing. "No, it's a figure of speech. Go back to drawing, baby."

"Baby?"

"Term of endearment between a couple." She wiggled and brushed a few strands of hair from her face.

 

* * *

 

That evening they ate in the hotel restaurant, and she started to laugh as Joker walked past them with a huge glass of alcohol with several fruit-laden umbrella picks stuck in it.

"They have plenty of umbrellas here, Commander." He smirked as he headed toward the bar and sat on a stool.

They placed their orders and as they ate they spoke about what their childhood was like and if he ever missed his small home colony.

"Not really, I don't remember it much. As a turian, I always knew I would be entering service at fifteen years old. That is told to us as soon as we could walk and understand. I was still so young, and the only clear memories I have are my parents telling me to stop wasting time drawing unless I was making up battle plans for an attack and defense with whatever make believe scenario they had given to me that week. When I was eight, I remember my aunt sending me a brand new set of professional markers and special drawing paper. I no sooner had the box opened when my father took them and tossed them in the disposal. I got so angry and when I did that's when my biotics manifested. I accidentally threw him against the wall. Less than three hours later my parents had my belongings packed, and I was on a shuttle for placement in a Cabal."

She set her fork down and frowned at him. "Eight?"

"Mm-hmm. I've been assigned to the same Cabal since then or had been until you chose me. So it isn't all bad. Without my biotics to make me unique and give me a boost with my military record I wouldn't have been chosen to be a candidate for your partner."

She let out a huff then swiped a piece of meat off his plate. He laughed, and she smiled at him as she chewed.

 

* * *

 

The next morning she woke with a groan as she reached for the comm link that buzzed in her ear. "This better be fucking important, or I'll be kicking your ass."

"Sorry to bother you, Commander, it's Navigator Pressly. I did this morning's safety inspection before next group of the crew goes on shore leave when I noticed something wrong with the control panel into your quarters. Someone tried to hack the door. I have a repair crew on their way to fix it."

"What the hell are you talking about, Pressly? Why didn't the VI notify you or me when it happened?" She sat up and felt Gaius stir behind her.

"According to the log records I pulled from the VI, one of the old pass codes was used to bypass the monitoring on the door; it was active at the time that they were building the room. All of the codes were changed, per your orders, the day before we left the Citadel. Only the security team didn't bother to erase any of the old codes and only stored them in an archived file. I've had them erased, and I have rescinded their leave until they've scrubbed all of the old codes from the system."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." She let out a harsh hiss of air as she stood and moved to the dresser where her omni tool laid. "Send me a list of all crew that had been on board at the time and if anyone had boarded in the last twenty-four hours. Have security check my terminal access point on the bridge as well. Send me some holos of the damage and let me know when they finished the repairs. Shepard out."

"Aye, Aye, Commander. Pressly out."

She opened the file that Pressly sent her, and one of Gaius' talons pointed to the panel. "What in Spirit's name happened?"

"Some fucker tried to break into our cabin. Pressly's investigating and having it repaired. We'll need to go to the ship and check everything over inside, and I'll need to look over the damn protocols better and find out just who screwed up bad enough that someone else found it and tried to exploit it."

"Why would anyone break into our room?" Gaius asked as he studied the other holos.

"I don't know. Maybe whoever it was that tried to break in were looking for something specific or maybe they thought to get into my personal logs."

She leaned back against him, and he wrapped an arm around her before nuzzling her head.

 

* * *

 

Gaius looked through the room as Shepard checked her terminal. Nothing seemed to be missing, or out of place so they didn't think the person got into the room. The repair crew fixed the lock and Shepard changed all of the codes again.

"Pressly, I don't see anything unusual in the logs for ship entry, so I guess it was someone already on here. Any of these names stick out as someone that would attempt this?"

"No, Commander. Everyone on this list is someone that has been with us for a while or who records is exemplary."

She looked over the list again. "What about that FNG?"

"The one in supply? He's listed as on leave and not showing up on the entry log."

Shepard nodded as she continued to look for a reason someone would do something so stupid and kept coming up blank.

 

* * *

 

The rest of their honeymoon went smooth, no one broke any laws or got into trouble with the locals, past a few small infractions due to alcohol and landed in the jail overnight. By the time the week was up, everyone was ready to go, and Pressly sent the mission report that he had received that morning from the Council to Shepard's personal terminal in her room.

Gaius unpacked their bags and put away his drawing things as Shepard told him the assignment.

"A report of more grave robbing on Gei Hinnom. We're to go in and scare them off and report any new damage. Doesn't sound like something worthy of a Spectre," she griped.

"A mission is a mission. Maybe the Council thought to give you something simple because it will be the first time we are in an actual battle situation?"

Shepard leaned back in her chair and chewed her lip before she swiveled toward him. "Possibly." She turned back to her terminal and scrolled back through it again. "Joker set a direct course for Gei Hinnom and use passive scanning for anything out of the ordinary."

"Aye aye, Commander. ETA 10 hours."

 

* * *

 

"Chief Williams, gear up and meet us in the shuttle bay in 30 minutes," Shepard said over the comms as she finished suiting up. Gaius adjusted his armor until it settled more comfortably on his cowl. His gloves were next then she watched as he activated his biotics to check his warp.

"Nervous?" she asked as she continued to watch him activate an overload on his omni tool before discharging it then she grinned as he held up his arms and dual omni blades shot out of his omni tool.

"Somewhat, that's why I'm running several diagnostics on my suit and tool."

She picked up her helmet then held out his. "I've wanted to ask you something. The one guy that I have as part of the ground crew, he's a Sentinel too, but he has this weird looking armor that powers up over his suit. Why don't you have that?"

"That's called Tech Armor. I don't have it because I invested more time and effort into strengthening my warps and overloads. Just like you've refined your infiltrator techniques, I've refined mine to be a personal preference. I've focused on my physical fitness to hold my weapon stable. A stable weapon provides greater accuracy and damage. Turians have a beneficial side effect; the better fitness level we have, the healthier we are and that in turn increases our shield strength."

Shepard let out a humming sound as they headed toward the lift. Once down in the armory, they chose their load outs and spent a few minutes modding their weapons.

"Commander, I'm picking up a distress signal from the planet's surface. LADAR paints it as a quarian ship. Scanners can't determine life signs; indigenous life is probably the cause."

"Copy that, Joker. Send the coordinates to the shuttle, and we'll go search for survivors then handle the Spectre mission."

Once the three of them were on the shuttle the autopilot engaged and took them down to the surface of the planet. It landed a short distance from where the small quarian vessel had wrecked. The crew saw several bodies laying on the ground and supplies scattered around.

"Spread out and look for survivors and any supplies. Watch your backs." Shepard readied her Mantis as she watched Gaius unhook his Phaeston and Williams chose her Avenger.

Gaius had turned around to say something to Shepard, but she had disappeared. A slight shimmer was barely noticeable, and he realized she had activated her tactical cloak to move across a relatively open area to a group of crates.

A few minutes later Williams told them that she had found the log entries about what happened. "Skipper, there were a bunch of survivors at one point, but the acting Captain noted that the started disappearing at night. They think someone or something was taking them, they planned on sending out a search party."

"Copy that. There's a trail here. It looks like blood, and it's still wet. Someone or something is still alive. Let's move."

They followed the blood trail and found an injured female quarian. Gaius knelt down and transferred some of his medigel to her suit's reserve port. "What happened? Where is the rest of your crew?" he asked her as he rooted through a small pouch at her side.

"We crashed. We were scouting close to the Perseus Veil, and there were geth. The Engineer tried to make our engines silent so we could get past them, but it didn't work; our ship couldn't handle that kind of strain. Then, after we took note of where we landed, we sent up a distress beacon for our home ship to come and rescue us, but something started to hunt us at night. It was only one or two at first, then more and more. Varren, packs of them, coming from everywhere. Those beasts killed the ones that were left, and I was severely injured. My systems are unstable, and infection is present, please help me to get back to the Idenna before it's too late."

"Spectre, did you catch all that?" He asked as he finished spreading the last of the suit repair gel along the tear in the quarian's suit on her thigh.

"I heard Gaius, once you're done patching her up to get her on her feet and be ready to move."

"Ash get ready, those varren are going to smell that quarian's blood in this area and be here soon enough. We have to hold them off until Gaius gets her up and mobile."

"Aye, aye Skipper," Ashley said as she scanned around the site looking for clues to where the varren may be hiding.

Shepard hunkered down next to a boulder and spotted what she thought was a hole in the rock wall opposite her position. "Guys, there's a cave entrance near my position, be on the lookout for others, those are perfect caching spots for bodies."

"I see one over here as well, Skipper."

"There's another across from where the quarian and I are also. The diagnostics are almost complete, Spectre."

"Gaius, you can call me Shepard. No need to be so rigidly formal on the battlefield."

"Understood, Ma'am," Gaius said, and he heard her sigh and let out a laugh. "It isn't easy to discard a lifetime of ingrained training so quickly, but I will try, just for you."

They heard a "tch" sound on the comm. Shepard didn't say anything but knew it had come from Ashley.

"I've got the quarian up and moving, Shepard. We're starting back toward the shuttle."

"Copy that, Gaius, we'll cover your back," Shepard said.

"Skipper, incoming, a whole pack of varren," Ashley said as the report of her assault rifle started to sound from the one side of the area.

Shepard cloaked and lined up a shot as she saw varren coming from the entrance she was covering as well. "Here too, Ash. Keep 'em off the others."

"Damn it, Shepard; they're at the shuttle." Shepard heard Gaius call out and she started to back away and fire when she could.

"Ash, back to the shuttle," Shepard called.

They saw the purple glow of biotics as a Gaius threw a warp, then an explosion happened that threw a group of the beasts into others that were running for the shuttle and the quarian.

"What the fuck was that explosion, Gaius?" Shepard yelled as she ejected the used heatsink and popped another on in and lined up another shot.

"Tech burst, warp then overload, and it results in an explosion if you pull it off fast enough."

"Damn, that's hot."

He chuckled and sent out another warp over Shepard's head and started to shoot the varren that were trying to circle toward the shuttle.

"Keep moving to the shuttle and get that quarian on board. There're too many of these fuckers," Shepard yelled as she backed away again, switching from her Mantis to her Tempest. She heard a grunt and turned to see Gaius with his legs braced and his omni blades sunk deep into a varren that must have leaped at him. He dissolved his blades, and the varren fell at his feet.

After several more minutes and a nearly exhausted supply of heatsinks they made it to the shuttle and Ashley covered them as Shepard and Gaius got the quarian on board then she leaped in after them and slammed her hand on the door control to shut it before the varren could reach them.

"Good work both of you. Shuttle to Normandy, we have one quarian survivor that's in need of medical."

"Copy that, Commander. Info relayed to Chakwas; she's getting the clean area ready for your passenger. Passive scans aren't showing any other activity near you."

"Roger that, Joker."

 

* * *

 

Shepard moved to the back once she set the shuttle's autopilot to return it to the ship. She paused for a second when she saw the quarian leaning heavily on Gaius with her arms wrapped around one of his.

"The Normandy's medical officer is getting the med-bay ready for you. She'll start treatment on the worst of your injuries, and I'll notify the Fleet of your rescue. It will be a while before we can head toward a drop off point or the fleet because we are here on a Council matter."

"Thank you for the rescue, Spectre."

Gaius tried to shift away from the quarian, but she seemed to have a death grip on his armor. He tapped the side of his helmet, and Shepard switched to their personal channel. "Having a problem there big guy?"

"Not funny, Shepard. This is incredibly annoying. I'd rather be over there with you."

"I know, baby, but it's only a short ride then we can get her into the med-bay, and you'll get your arm back. In the meantime, you can think of all the things you want to do to me when we've finished up the mission."

"Mmm, that will take me the rest of the solar cycle and then some, mate."

Shepard let out a chuckle then stood as the VI announced they were approaching the ship.

 

* * *

 

Shepard and Gaius took the quarian to the med-bay while Ashley went to shower then clean the weapons.

Gaius removed his helmet and let Chakwas give his amp a quick check over before giving him a vitamin shot. They heard the quarian give a rather loud, besotted sounding sigh from across the room.

He looked at Shepard and gave an annoyed flick of his right mandible. Shepard reached up after deactivating the seals and removed her helmet before turning toward the quarian and letting her see the matching markings on her face. "After your treatment let my pilot know how to contact the Migrant Fleet, and we'll get you there as soon as possible."

The quarian let out a gasp and fell backward on the bed. "Al-alright. Thank you again."

"I'm glad my mate and I, along with a crew member were able to make it to you in time. You should rest, don't worry my ship's medic is one of the best in the Alliance."

Gaius nuzzled her as they walked out of the med-bay and whispered his thanks to her.

"You can thank me in the shower, mate, we have just enough time for one before we need to eat and go back to the surface."

He growled then picked her up, even with the extra weight of the armor and tossed her over his shoulder and headed for the lift.

 


End file.
